Getting ready to dive into the world of Latin and Greek roots and word parts? In this post you will find helpful information about Greek and Latin roots, including how to introduce them to your students, common Latin and Greek roots they will encounter in the English language, the reasoning behind why teaching Greek and Latin roots is so impactful for students, and strategies and resources for how to teach students about Latin and Greek roots in fun and engaging ways.

Games and Activities for Teaching Upper Elementary Students Latin and Greek Roots

What are Greek and Latin roots?

Greek and Latin roots are the foundational components of many English words that often come from ancient Greek and Latin languages. They serve as the core elements that provide words with their meaning.

For example, the word "telephone" is made up of two parts: "tele" (meaning "far") and "phone" (meaning "sound"). "Tele" and "phone" are Greek roots. When combined, they form the word "telephone," meaning "a device for transmitting sound over a distance."

If you are getting ready to introduce Greek and Latin roots this short (6:22) video clip by Khan Academy is an excellent introduction of Latin & Greek roots and affixes that covers what they are, how readers can use them to their advantage, and how Greek & Latin languages came to be so prevalent in the English language.

What are 10 common Latin roots?

Below are ten examples of Latin roots that are commonly found embedded in words in the English language.

aqua
aud
bene
centri
contra
dent
dic
ma
regul
vid/vis

examples of common Latin roots found in the English language

What are 10 common Greek roots?

Below are ten examples of Greek roots that are commonly found embedded in words in the English language.

asterbiblio
chrono
dyna
geo
graph
hydr
phon
photo
tele

Examples of common Greek roots found in the English language

What Latin and Greek roots and word parts are covered in the Derivational Relations Stage?

In Unit 5, Latin and Greek Word Parts 1, the roots and word parts dict, aud, vis, spect, port, bio-, form, phon, photo, graph, tele, -logy/-ology, therm-, meter, geo-, and -scope are covered.

Latin and Greek roots and word parts covered in Unit 5 of Words Their Way Derivational Relations

In Unit 7, Latin and Greek Word Parts 2, the roots and word parts tract, gress, rupt, mot, fract, flect/flex, ject, mis/mit, man, scrib/script, fac, struct, duc/duct, ver/vert, fer, intra-, circum-, intro-, and inter- are covered.

Latin and Greek roots and word parts covered in Unit 7 of Words Their Way Derivational Relations

In Unit 9, Latin and Greek Word Parts 3, the roots and word parts ante-, bene, mal-, post-, mono-, uni-, bi-, min/mini-, dent/dont, astr/aster, cred, sec/sect, spir, leg, tri-, quadr-/quar-, quint-/pent-, oct-, dec-, cent-. micro-, cap, ped/pod, aer, mort, ven/vent, jud, mod, mega-, super-, hyper-, poly-, equi-, omni-, magni-, corp, terr, hydr, gen, junct, biblio, and astr/aster are covered.

Latin and Greek roots and word parts covered in Unit 9 of Words Their Way Derivational Relations

In Unit 10, Latin and Greek Word Parts 4, the roots and word parts voc/voke, ling/lang, mem, psych, path, sens/sent, med/medi, ex-, pro-, tain/ten, sol, press, pur/purg, fus, pend, pos, loc, sub-, en-, nounce/nunc, sist, sta/stat/stit, ced/cess/ceed, ten/tend, lit, de-, in-, com-, and ceiv/cept are covered.

Latin and Greek roots and word parts covered in Unit 10 of Words Their Way Derivational Relations

* Note: I've linked each of these Latin and Greek roots to resources that can be used to teach these word parts and meanings. You can find the whole bundle for teaching Latin and Greek Roots here.

Why teach Greek and Latin roots?

⭐#1 PROVIDES THE BIGGEST RETURN ON VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT FOR TIME INVESTED

Over 60% of words in the English language contain Greek or Latin roots. And when narrowing in on science and technology vocabulary, that number climbs to 90%! Introducing students to Greek and Latin roots is like presenting them with a linguistic master key, empowering them to unlock the meanings of words across multiple subjects.

Take a look at all of the words students can approximate the meaning of just by learning that the Latin root duc or duct means "to lead"!

examples of the Latin root duc/duct found in words in the English language

⭐#2 ENHANCES WORD ANALYSIS SKILLS AND COMPREHENSION SKILLS

To identify Greek and Latin roots within words a student must learn how to break words into morphemes (or word parts). Then they can analyze each individual meaning to interpret the meaning of the word as a whole.

example of breaking down a word into morphemes to determine the individual meaning of each morpheme

With instruction in Greek and Latin Roots, students learn to look for patterns and relationships among roots and word parts, enabling them to decipher the meanings of unfamiliar words they come across in texts. This approach improves students comprehension skills by enriching their vocabulary and equipping them with the skills to infer the meanings of unknown multisyllabic words.

⭐#3 SHARPENS CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Beyond simply learning new words, studying Greek and Latin roots and affixes helps sharpen students' critical thinking skills. When they break down words into parts, students engage in analytical reasoning, observing connections between words and their meanings. This helps them better understand how language works and how to determine what words mean in different contexts.

⭐#4 PROMOTES LIFELONG LEARNING

Teaching students Greek and Latin roots goes far beyond teaching them vocabulary words so that they memorize the definitions and perform well on spelling and achievement tests. Developing adequate knowledge of the meanings of roots---the building blocks of many words in the English language--- empowers students to continue expanding their vocabulary and language skills independently.

In what grade-level are Latin and Greek roots taught?

Latin and Greek roots are typically introduced in 4th grade, when most students are already familiar with prefixes and suffixes and how they contribute to and change the meaning of words, and taught through 8th grade. However, this can vary depending on different school districts’ approach. In the Words Their Way continuum, students are introduced to Latin and Greek roots and word parts in the middle of the Derivational Relations stage (see teaching resources here). The goal is to equip students with the tools to decode and understand complex vocabulary, which becomes increasingly important with each academic year.

How do you teach Latin and Greek roots effectively?

TEACH A GROUP OF 3-4 ROOTS EACH WEEK

For upper elementary students teaching 3-4 roots per week (versus “a root a week”) provides a richer opportunity for vocabulary growth. Increasing students’ exposure to a variety of roots more quickly enhances student's ability to make connections and recognize patterns among roots and how words are structured.

TEACH ROOTS IN CONTEXT

Teaching Greek and Latin root meanings in isolation isn't effective enough for students to truly grasp the nuances of the roots and the various ways they are used within the English language. A systematic and intentional approach that includes a multitude of example words, images, sentences, and situations is much more effective. Multiple and varied exposures over the course of a few days allow students to activate and strengthen the neural pathways needed to create expert mastery of word knowledge. Example words, pictorial representations, and sentences are woven throughout the lesson plans provided in this resource.

It's also important to note that an effort should be made to include examples where the root is found at the beginning, middle, and end of a word (i.e. benediction, dictator, and predict).

INCORPORATE PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS

Use pictures and images AND ask students to produce them! Asking students to associate roots and words with a picture is a very powerful tool that helps solidify the meaning of a root or word in their minds. Pictorial representations of roots can be incorporated into your lessons in two different ways.

Display an image or images that you've chosen to symbolize a root or a group of roots. Ask students to think of a root that they've been studying that would be represented by the image(s) and explain why.
Challenge students to draw a picture on their own that would represent the meaning of the root being studied.

The beauty of using this strategy is that it encourages rich discussions focused on the nuances in the meaning of the roots. Each student could choose a different pictorial representation for the same root and they can all be correct!

USE CALL & RESPONSE OPPORTUNITIES

Repetition is key to learning and retaining new information. Incorporating a 30 second call and response opportunity at the beginning, middle, or end of your lessons where you call out a root and the students collectively call out its meaning is a great way to rehearse the meanings of the roots to help students move their learning into their long-term memories.

AVOID SPOON FEEDING

While it is important to be prepared with visuals, word lists, definitions, sentence examples, and reading material for the roots students are studying, avoid handing them everything all at once before allowing them to do some generating on their own.

Word Lists - there is SO much more power in inviting students to help you generate a list of words that contain the roots you are teaching them before an all-inclusive, prepared word lists are shared.

Definitions – avoid simply handing students definitions of words that contain the roots being studied. Instead, provide lots of opportunities to "turn and talk" to a partner to generate definitions based on what they know about the root's meaning. Take care to encourage, praise, and model the process of using what we know to glean meaning and understanding of unknown words and frequently assure students that the wording of the definitions does not need to be "textbook perfect". Questions like, "What do you think ________ means?" and "Why do you think that?" should be frequently asked throughout lessons.

INCORPORATE A VARIETY OF WAYS TO WORK WITH ROOTS

The more varied the activities and opportunities are for students to work with the Greek & Latin roots they are studying, the more likely they will master their meanings. Make sure your lessons and learning experiences are reaching different modes of learning as often as possible, for example –

Visual Strategies –

associating chosen images with a root
display roots, their meanings, and words containing the root on posters
create bulletin boards
display word lists
example sentences using words with roots being studied
gallery walks to view group work on roots

Auditory Strategies -

“turn and talk” opportunities to generate definitions, discuss meanings, and share examples
call and response opportunities
storytelling with words containing roots
participate in watching group presentations about roots
listen to podcasts or audio recordings
listen to the word being pronounced (using Google or a website like howjsay.com)
practice pronunciations by choral reading through sample word lists
incorporate audio flashcards

Kinesthetic Strategies -

use playdough to form an object that is associated with a root's meaning
build words
break words into morphemes
strike a pose that is associated with a root's meaning
play charades to act out a root's meaning
write and perform skits

One of my favorite ways to incorporate all three of these modes of learning in one is with my Latin and Greek Roots and Word Parts word study games. My students LOVE when I add partner and independent games and activities to our word study routine when working with Greek and Latin roots. A class favorite is Swipe & Swap to Ten, where students take turns (although this game can easily be played independently) to solve a sliding puzzle, shifting cards around until they correctly match a word with its definition and pictorial representation. When a row is correctly matched, the student "swipes" the entire row and gets another turn. The first student to swipe ten rows wins the game.

games and activities that help students apply the meaning of Latin and Greek roots to determine the meaning of a word they are in

In Four In A Row, students spin a spinner, find a word or image of a word that matches the root they spun and cover it with a marker/chip. Students then write the word they covered on the recording sheet under the correct column. The goal is to cover four words in a row (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally) to win. The Four In A Row activities can easily be played with a partner or independently.

a game challenging students to use the meaning of Greek word parts to help them determine the meaning of the word they are found in

STAY THE COURSE! YOU WILL SEE INCREDIBLE PROGRESS IN NO TIME!

When it comes to teaching Latin and Greek roots and word parts, the more exposure and practice students get, the stronger readers and spellers they become! Not only does incorporating game play into our word study routine provide an additional opportunity for students to practice and apply what is being taught, but adding games and play-based activities adds some much needed variety and engagement to our word study block.